This invention is directed to a toy having a primary vehicle and a satellite attached thereto which can be extended from the primary vehicle and which, in so doing, activates a motor in the primary vehicle which returns the satellite to the primary vehicle. The activated motor drives the primary vehicle at a first velocity when the satellite is extended away from the primary vehicle and at a second velocity when the satellite has been returned to the primary vehicle.
A class of toys exist which are exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,795,081; 4,114,310; 4,068,401 and 2,803,921. This class of toys is directed to toys which have a main component part and at least one auxiliary, or satellite, component part attached thereto by a tether, string, or the like. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 3,688,435 describes a hand-holdable device wherein a satellite object is made to extend from and return to the device by manipulation of certain component parts of the device. While the device of the patent listed in the previous sentence is related to this invention, the devices described in the other patents previously listed are more closely related.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,795,081, a mother duck is pulled by a string. Connecting to the mother duck is a tether which includes two ducklings attached thereto. As the mother duck is pulled along, the tether attached to the ducklings is first retracted into the mother duck, bringing the ducklings closer to the mother duck, and then allowed to extend out of the mother duck, allowing the ducklings to fall farther behind the mother duck. This is accomplished by having a belt drive connecting between a set of front and back wheels in the mother duck with a portion of the belt drive being thicker than the remaining portion such that the thicker portion contacts a spindle to wind the ducklings toward the mother duck during one half of the rotation of the belt, and then disengages with the spindle for the remainder of the rotation of the belt, at which time the spindle is no longer rotated within the mother duck, allowing the tether to be extracted by the mass of the ducklings pulling on it.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,803,921 describes a toy which also has an auxiliary body attached to a driving body. Located within the driving body is a spool to which the tether is attached. As the driving body moves forward, the spool is wound, bringing the auxiliary body in contact with the driving body. The auxiliary body has the capacity to open up, giving the impression of swallowing the driving body. When the driving body becomes located within the interior of the auxiliary body, winding of the tether on the spool ceases, and movement of the driving body ceases. Since the driving body has become located within the auxiliary body and is no longer in contact with the support surface, the toy ceases all movement with respect to the driving surface as soon as the driving body becomes located within the auxiliary body.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,401 utilizes a principle very similar to U.S. Pat. No. 2,803,921. The difference between these two patents is that U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,401 is directed to an aquatic vehicle, which, instead of being propelled along a support surface by driving wheels and the like, utilizes appropriate movement of a pivotable tail, pivotable paddles, or the like, to propel the driving body in an aquatic environment. A further difference between this patent and U.S. Pat. No. 2,803,921 is that it is the body capable of containing the other body that has the driving means located therein. U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,401 has in common with U.S. Pat. No. 2,083,921 the fact that once the one body is located in the other body, all movement of both bodies ceases and the toy remains static.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,310 is closely related to the patents mentioned above. It differs from U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,401 in that it is a land vehicle capable of moving over a solid support surface by driving wheels and the like. As with the patents mentioned in the previous paragraph, one of the two bodies of this patent is capable of containing the other of the bodies. This patent contains a feature extracted from both of the patents noted in the previous paragraphs in that, in one embodiment, it is the driven member which ultimately contains the driving member in its interior, and in another embodiment it is the driving member that ultimately contains the driven member in its interior. As with the devices mentioned in the previous paragraph, once one of the members is located in the other of the members, all movement of both members ceases and the toy remains static.
While it is considered that the toys noted in the above noted patents all have considerable play value, as was pointed out with regard to U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,310, U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,401 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,803,921, once one of the bodies has become located in the other of the bodies, action of the toys described therein ceases, and the toy remains static and inanimate. It is considered that while all of the toys of the above noted patents have a compelling feature in that one body moves with respect to another body, there exists a need for a toy which includes this feature, but also includes an additional feature wherein the toy does not remain static and inanimate after association of the two bodies, but continues in action mode.